Isle of the Skull
by Nickket
Summary: On the eve of Will and Elizabeths wedding a familiar face returns, but not with good news. CHAPTER 2 UP!
1. Default Chapter

Title: Isle of The Skull   
  
Author: That'd be me. Claire Weasley.  
  
Rating: M15+ (Yes, that's Australian ratings. Work it out foreigners ;P)  
  
Pairing: I like to put my story before the pairing, but ye be warned, this is HET. Jack/Elizabeth/Will triangle of sorts. Or it will be eventually. That means no Jack/Will nookie. Sorry. I'm upset about it as you are.  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing. I gacked. I have not a creative thought of my own in my entire body and that's why I write fanfiction! Huzzah. I wish I owned Johnny Depp. Alas, they do not sell him on ebay.  
  
Feedback is good, yo.  
  
ISLE OF THE SKULL  
  
Chapter One - 'Despicable'.  
  
It was nightfall. The last of the suns rays sent scattered light across the seas surface. Two young people stood framed silhouettes on the dock of Port Royale.  
  
"Elizabeth, I…I don't know how to tell you…tomorrow, when we are finally wed…I just want you to know. …That is, I mean-"  
  
The small brunette put a finger to his lips and smiled warmly "I know Will"  
  
He continued nevertheless. Elizabeth noted when he was nervous like this a small dimple twitched in his right cheek. It was completely endearing. She casually wondered how much more wonderful things she would notice about this man when he became her husband.   
  
"I know I'm not the richest man, but as long as I live you'll never want for anything, I swear it"  
  
"Of course, I do know that Will" Elizabeth smiled again, hoping to reassure her fiancé. The strength of their love had not been a concern of either of theirs before, but wedding eve nerves were getting the better of them both. She swallowed the nervous lump in her throat and embraced him, pulling him close.  
  
"We love each other Will, that's all that matt-"  
  
Before she could finish there was a thunderous crash and Elizabeth started in fright as the dock seemed to shake beneath the couple. Neither of them were able to see the immediate cause of the noise and their eyes darted nervously in every direction. Will put a protective arm around Elizabeth, but overcome with curiosity she quickly pushed herself from his grasp and ran down toward the end of the dock.   
  
What she saw made her yell out in shock, and she staggered back from the edge of the boardwalk slightly  
  
  
  
"Will... get help."  
  
Will ran to her side. The crash they had heard was a small wooden dinghy hitting the side of the dock. Inside the boat, water washing over him, lay a bleeding and unconscious man. But not a stranger.  
  
"Joshamee Gibbs" Will muttered, shooting Elizabeth a look she couldn't decipher before running back up the dock to sound the alarm.   
  
Elizabeth however, remained behind, unable to tear her eyes from the source of the bleeding. Brutally carved into Mr Gibbs upper arm was the shape of a skull. And just below; the words "Barbossa".  
  
***  
  
"But, it's not possible!" Elizabeth knew she was yelling, but she couldn't help it. She clasped her trembling hands together. "He's dead! I saw him die. He was shot in the heart! He fell over and died right in front of me for goodness sake!"  
  
Mr Gibbs had been taken to the infirmary to be attended to, but the alarm had been raised and many residents were just as shocked and curioua as Elizabeth by the strange incident. A group of men and Elizabeth were milling about in her father's study, a feeling of tepid unease hung in the room.   
  
"Elizabeth-" her father, Governor Weatherby Swann started, putting a hand on her arm in an effort to comfort her. His face was creased with worry and it hurt her to know she was unsettling him so. She put her hand on her fathers momentarily, but paid little attention to what he was actually saying and swung around to face Will.  
  
"You saw it!"  
  
Will looked just as confused as she, and shook his head listlessly "I did…he was dead"  
  
"It has to be someone else then" Elizabeth said, not entirely convinced herself "Someone is trying to scare us. A friend of Barbossa's perhaps, a relative, an old crewmate-"  
  
"I wouldn't worry yourself Miss Swan" Commodore Norrington cleared his throat and stood from the chair he'd been sitting on in the corner of the room "I'm sure once Mr Gibbs regains consciousness he'll be able to fill us in on all the details. Perhaps you ought to get some rest Elizabeth, before the nuptials tomorrow"  
  
Elizabeth took a deep breath and tried to hide her annoyance, shaking her head "I'm not a child Commodore, I-"  
  
Will moved beside her quickly and cut her off, taking her hand "No one thinks you are a child Elizabeth. Commodore Norrington is just looking out for your best interests, and I think perhaps he is right in this case, we are to be married tomorrow, you should get some rest. Your father, Commodore Norrington, and I will talk with Mr Gibbs as soon as he wakes"  
  
Elizabeth felt a flash of anger in her stomach, and the hair began to prickle at the back of her neck. Bloody men. Even after all that had happened with the Black Pearl they insisted on excluding her. Coddling her. And now, even her fiancé was part of it.   
  
Frustrated, Elizabeth pulled her hand abruptly from Will's. "Fine. Goodnight then Mr Turner. Father" She tried to ignore the hurt look on Will's face as she hurried from the room.  
  
Slamming her bedroom door behind her, Elizabeth threw herself down on the bedcovers in a state. She was already beginning to feel badly for being so cold towards Will, she knew that he, and her father, and even Commodore Norrington were trying to protect her, and that she was being unreasonable. But it didn't lessen the anger inside of her at being treated like a child. If she were a man, she'd be in the study still discussing the events of the past hour, but because she wasn't they thought of her as a frail bird needing shielding from the outside world. Swann nothing, she thought bitterly. She was a person in her own right, and a lot more respectable than many men she had met in her time. Albie Bithersworth one of the men in the study had been caught indulging in a rather disturbing act with one of the goats in Paducah, and yet he was given precedence when it came to things of a supposedly important nature.   
  
Elizabeth weaved the lace edge of her bedcovers through her fingers. She ought not to have acted so rashly. Will's desire to look after her was the main prerogative for his actions, she knew, but she couldn't help feeling a little misplaced, as he more than anyone knew her ability to handle herself. Hadn't she already proved she didn't need constant safeguarding? Hadn't she survived being a captive of Barbossa and his gang of rotting corpses? Hadn't she been the one to save herself and Captain Jack Sparrow from that abominable island, the evils of alcohol and his lecherous seduction attempts?  
  
Jack Sparrow. She couldn't help wondering about him. As much as he exasperated and infuriated her she couldn't help but feel a small amount of empathy for the man who had saved her life several times over. Last she had known he had captained the ship that Mr Gibbs had been a part of. The Black Pearl. Did Captain Sparrow have the mark of the skull too? Or, in what she thought was a likely scenario, had he finally run out of ways to talk himself out if a situation? Maybe he wasn't there at all, she thought; perhaps he's drinking rum in with Albie Bithersworth's goat in Tortuga. She couldn't help but roll her eyes. iThat/i was perhaps the most likely scenario of them all.  
  
Elizabeth sighed and rolled onto her back. They were right. She was thinking about it too much. Worrying needlessly about a small incident that was probably nothing. She should just concentrate on marrying her soul mate tomorrow. Her heart lightened at the thought; tomorrow she'd be Mrs Will Turner.  
  
  
  
She was reaching for the bell to call for her maid to help her into her nightgown when she caught the sight of the dark sea rumbling ominously from her bedroom window. Its expanse was so great; so much could be hidden in its depths. She sighed and changed her mind again. She would never get to sleep at this rate anyway, and she simply couldn't ignore the thought that Barbossa might still be alive, however ridiculous it might be. Yes, she thought stubbornly, she had made a decision; if her father and his men insisted on leaving her out of everything she would go to the hospital wing and find out everything from Mr Gibbs herself. Pulling a shawl over her head, and wrapping a coat around herself she slipped quickly and soundlessly out the door.  
  
***  
  
Having had a spell for almost five weeks in one after a nasty case of appendicitis when she was eight Elizabeth had never cared for hospitals much, but the casualty wing seemed especially eerie this evening. Her shoes made soft padding noises as she hurried down the hallway and into the darkened room, trying not to think about it too much. As far as she could tell there was only one other person in the room with Mr Gibbs, and he was in no condition to talk. Casting a quick glance behind her, and careful to make as little noise as possible, (knowing how the nurses liked to gossip) she slipped over to Mr Gibbs bedside. She looked down at his sleeping form, repressing a shudder. Even though the carvings were not visible under the bandages her memory served well enough. She also noted that there was a lot of bruising around his face. Had he be beaten? She pulled at her hair nervously; sometimes human beings were beyond her understanding.   
  
"Mr Gibbs" she whispered, realising how foolish she must look trying to wake an unconscious man. She put a light hand on his uninjured arm "Mr Gibbs…please wake up. I must speak with you."  
  
He didn't even stir. Elizabeth straightened up, silently scolding herself for being so irrational. She was clearly losing her mind. Of course he wouldn't wake just because she wished it, why it was simply-  
  
"Arghhhhhhh!" She yelled out in fright as a hand grabbed her arm out of nowhere. In her shock she backed into a trolley, spilling its contents and sending bedpans clattering to the floor with noise, in the quiet hospital wing, akin to a pack of stampeding elephants. She cursed under her breath for her clumsiness.  
  
"Mr Gibbs, I'm so sorry, it's just, you frightened me...I'm sorry, It was my fault, trying to wake you...do forgive me for intruding so" Taking a deep breath, she composed herself again and looked down at the superstitious old man she had known for so many years now with a sudden outpouring of fondness. "How are you feeling?"  
  
Before he had a chance to say anything Elizabeth noticed the unmistakable glow of a lamp approaching. Someone must have heard the noise, she thought quickly, not surprised in the least. With barely a moments hesitation she darted across the room and under the bed of the only other patient. Pulling the curtains across so she was obscured from view she tried to keep as silent as possible as the people with lamps entered the small area. She could only see their shoes but realised almost immediately who they belonged to. Will, Her father, Commodore Norrington, and another soldier called Fields had come to question their patient as promised.  
  
"Oh Mr Gibbs, you are awake" He fathers voice "How are you feeling?"  
  
When he spoke it was a low soft growl "Not so wonderful sir, considering the circumstances." There was a pause "Ah yes, I'm afraid I may've accidentally knocked over this 'ere trolley when I woke"  
  
Elizabeth let out a small sigh; grateful he had not betrayed her secret. Though she doubted she'd receive more than a few disapproving looks from her father there was something that kept her from wanting to be discovered flaunting curfew tonight.  
  
There was shuffling of feet and a few metallic clangs and Elizabeth realised Will was on his hands and knees picking up what she had inadvertently spilled. Commodore Norrington was the next person to speak;  
  
"I know you must be tired Master Gibbs, but we were wondering if you could answer a few questions and perhaps assuage a few of our worries"  
  
"I shall do my best sirs" he replied, although from his tone of voice it didn't seem to Elizabeth that he was overly keen to do so. Not that she should blame him, the sight of him lying at the dock was something that chilled her significantly, and the ideas in her head of what had happened to cause it were far worse.  
  
"Who gave you those markings?"   
  
There was a small pause "I don't rightly know sirs"  
  
"You don't know?" Will said incredulously "How could-"  
  
"They was wearing masks sirs, all of them. With the shape, 'twas the shape of the skull painted on"  
  
"How many were there?" Commodore asked.  
  
Elizabeth saw her father's feet shuffle closer to the side of the cot, and his voice softened "Mr Gibbs, perhaps you should tell us what happened from the very beginning"  
  
"A' course Governor Swann" the bed ridden man replied wearily "It happened 'bout three moons ago, or from what I remember anyways. I'm not rightly sure. But it was the night with no moon I remember that much. I told ol' Jack it was bad luck to sail under no moon but he wouldn't have none of it. He reckoned it was as good a night as any to sail. He's awful mad about the sea sir that sometimes it ain't worth tryin' to reason with him"  
  
"Captain Jack Sparrow?" Commodore Norrington asked, his voice unmistakably icy "Of the Black Pearl? You sailed under his command?"  
  
"Yes sir" he replied, his voice seemingly growing stronger as he said it, as if daring Norrington to challenge him "I was his first mate"  
  
"We appreciate your help Mr Gibbs, please continue" Will said quickly, obviously trying to diffuse the situation. Elizabeth thought it might have been too late but finally Mr Gibbs spoke again.  
  
"Well, it was quiet night ya see, hardly any wind, and the waters were so calm that Cap'n Jack told everyone to relax and put their feet up as they pleased. Good bunch o' people on that boat they was. So we drifted for abit, and Jack got into some of the rum he'd picked up at the last port. I'm not ashamed to say I had a bit of a tipple myself…"  
  
Elizabeth was sure she heard Commodore snort, but Mr Gibbs continued on with his story and she craned her neck to hear better.  
  
"I'm not one to be overly superstitious, but it was unnatural ya know, the way they creeped up. The whole dang lot of 'em. No one saw or heard a thing until they were climbing onto the Pearl. -Them men in masks I was telling you about- And they didn't say a word…" He exhaled sharply "They just started too attack…shooting, killing. They took out ol' Cotton and Biggs before they'd had the time to reach for their weapons. Scoundrels. We were unprepared…they got everyone. Shamus…Groffer… When young Annamaria tried to surrender…I… They…I can't bear to say it…they took her head clean off with one foul swing of a blade. Poor lass."  
  
Elizabeth covered her mouth, trying not to yell out in horror.  
  
Mr Gibbs's voice was heavy with emotion by this stage "It was a goddamn massacre out there. I've never seen Cap'n Jack so angry, he was like a madman. After what they did to poor Annamaria he went crazy.... stormed them, I went too…but…but it was no use…It was the two of us and a bottle of rum up against over forty masked and armed men. They beat Jack somthin' awful. An' worse, he kept joking with them too, saying that they could do better…that he'd never had such a weak beating in his life…I begged him to stop..but they beat him till he was bleeding and halfway dead. The only reason I knew he wasn't dead is because they told me the message…the message to give to you all here at Port Royale. It's why they carved it into me, like I was a bloody animal…"  
  
"What was the message?" Will asked, his voice unnaturally soft. Elizabeth wanted to reach out to him, she knew how fond he was of Jack and his crewmates.   
  
"The message was this…" Mr Gibbs started, raising his voice. Elizabeth soon understood why. He wanted her to hear clearly. "They said Barbossa is back, he wants Miss Elizabeth Swann, and if she does not show herself at the Isle of the Skull in before next week, they'll kill Jack Sparrow"   
  
Elizabeth clenched her fists, barely able to breathe.  
  
"That's ridiculous!" Commodore Norrington said scornfully "Noone here is about to risk the life of Miss Swann for a lowly pirate. Am I not right Mr Turner?"  
  
"I would never endanger Elizabeth's life deliberately" Will said after a small pause "But perhaps I could...we could go after Jack... and... and..."  
  
"And what?" Commodore interjected angrily "and risk your life and other men's for Captain Jack Sparrow, a pirate who has done nothing for others his entire life? Who has raped and pillaged and-"  
  
"Cap'n Jack ain't done none of that!" Mr Gibbs roared "He is not in the most honourable of professions, and he ain't always adhered to the rules of bein' a gentleman like yourselves! But he is a damn good man if I ever saw one, and when comes to it, he has saved the life of almost every man in this 'ere room! "  
  
"And if I am not mistaken, that debt was repaid when he escaped the gallows not so many months ago" Commodore Norrington replied coldly  
  
There was a tense silence in the room. Elizabeth's heart was thumping hard in her chest and she resisted the urge to pull back the curtains to see what was going on. Finally her father spoke;  
  
"We understand your feelings on the matter Mr Gibbs and you have our sympathies, but you must realise it is impossible" He sighed. "We simply cannot send the best of the British army after one pirate..."  
  
More silence.  
  
"Governor Swann and Commodore Norrington are right" Will said softly. Elizabeth was so shocked by his words that it took a second for her to register it was him speaking. He continued: "Please Joshamee, you must understand. I would like to help Jack again. He is a good man. A good pirate. But to go to an Island we've never heard of where, as you said there are what could be hundreds of merciless killers... is folly. It is suicide. It pains me to say it, but I think we must concentrate on keeping Elizabeth safe now." His words were stuttered. "Captain Jack Sparrow is already lost to us".  
  
"I suppose you'd be right Will..." Gibbs replied "I just hadn't rightly given up hoping...." he trailed off.  
  
"I think it is best we all get some rest, it has been a long night for all of us" Elizabeth's father said soberly "Mr Gibbs I am very sorry for your ordeal. I hope the morning brings better things for you"  
  
"Mr Gibbs" Will said wearily "I was hoping perhaps that you could refrain from mentioning this news to Miss Swann, I know she is curious... but it is our wedding day tomorrow and....and I think it is better left unsaid until a time that I can explain the circumstances fully"  
  
"I'll not mention it after tonight"  
  
"Thankyou. ...Goodnight"  
  
"Goodnight sirs. Sleep well"  
  
Long after the footsteps of the men had left the hallway Elizabeth remained behind the curtain in the hospital ward. Her knees pulled up tightly to her chest, she stayed unmoving and deep in thought. She didn't know how long it had been when she finally rose from her hiding place, hours perhaps. It was only when she made eye contact with Joshamee Gibbs that neither of them were in any doubt of what would happen next. 


	2. Chapter 2

THANKYOU TO ALL MY LOFFLY REVIEWERS, ESPECIALLY the brilliant DEADSPIDERS WHO THIS CHAPTER IS DEDICATED TO. YOU KNOW WHY MISSY :P  
  
Chapter Two - "It's Miss Swann"  
  
It was not Elizabeth's young maid Abigail who would find her missing when from her bed when she went to rouse her the next morning, nor was it the soldiers on the dock to find one of their smallest vessels "The Indomitable" absent from its usual docking place. It was Will Turner that would raise the alarm, who, after having slept terribly all night found a small note addressed to him slipped under the door to his chambers.  
  
'Dearest Will,' it read;  
  
'I trust by now you know I have gone and where. Please do not be angry with me, I am only doing that which I knew you wished to do yourself. You love for me does not go unnoticed, and your willingness to do anything to protect me is honourable but how could we marry today with such unhappiness hanging over our heads? We cannot run and hide our whole lives, waiting until Barbossa ransoms another. What of our children?   
  
Perhaps most of all, I simply cannot abide anyone dying for my sake, even if in this particular case it is an unwashed perverse alcoholic pirate named Jack Sparrow. Your friend. It is not a well-timed event that's sure, but consider it my first gift to you in what will be a long and happy life together for us.  
  
All my love, Elizabeth'  
  
Elizabeth replayed the words over and over in her head as they sailed. She hoped Will would understand. He had to. It was daylight and she was sitting toward the back of the sloop they had stolen, The Indomitable, consumed with thoughts of those she'd left behind at Port Royale. They had to know she was gone by now. Would they come after her? She looked out at the expanse of ocean behind them, pulling unconsciously at a strand of her long hair, a nervous trait which had become more evident lately. What if Will did not understand? She thought, What if he found another he loved before she could return?  
  
What if she did not return at all?   
  
It was possible. She knew that. She had known that when they'd set out from Port Royale in the darkest hours of the night. It just seemed the further she got out to sea, the clearer that point became.   
  
What did these masked men want from her? From what she knew of Barbossa it was unlikely he wanted her purely for the sake of revenge. He had the man responsible for his death already beaten and in his custody, and she knew he had never been coy about attacking Port Royale and taking her before. She bit her lip uneasily. Yet, knowing as much of him as she did, she thought it was unlikely to be flowers and wedding congratulations.  
  
Elizabeth sighed and pulled herself up from the deck. Thinking about it was not going to help anyone in the slightest.  
  
"Mr Gibbs" she said, as she made her way up towards him at the sloops helm, "Are we near it at all?"  
  
Joshamee Gibbs looked thoughtfully over the ocean's surface and out at the horizon in front of them. Elizabeth could hardly believe that only months ago she had considered him nothing more than a old drunk with too many superstitions, as it had become increasingly obvious there was much more to him than that. He would never have made a spectacle of it, but he was quite determined to help his friend, and she had found herself admiring his courage greatly.   
  
"I think so Miss Swann" he said finally, moving the ship's wheel slightly to the left. His voice sounded coarse and tired, and considering they had been traveling for many hours that day, it was little wonder.  
  
"You think?" Elizabeth enquired, trying to keep her voice light "You don't know?"   
  
"I told you milady, I've only ever heard of the cursed place. All pirates and sailors have heard the stories, but none in their right minds are daft enough to go looking for it..."  
  
"...What stories would those be?"  
  
Mr Gibbs looked at her uneasily "If you don't mind miss, I don't rightly think those stories are suitable for a lady such as yourself to hear"  
  
Elizabeth felt a flash of annoyance, but tried to ignore it. "So, for all we know we could be going in the wrong direction entirely?!"  
  
"Not entirely miss. As tales tell it, it's far south of this place. Some say it resides on the edge of the earth because hell isn't evil enough for it. No man gone looking for the cursed place has ever returned...that's what they says anyway"  
  
"So we've good odds then" Elizabeth remarked.  
  
Gibbs didn't reply, keeping his eyes on the horizon.  
  
"I didn't mean to be rude" Elizabeth muttered, almost as much to herself as Gibbs "It's just that I'm afraid, and hungry, and tired, and I've stolen a ship, and become a criminal, and I was supposed to be married today and now I'm heading off to this cursed island. It's rather a sharp turn of events".  
  
Gibbs turned to her and gave her a half smile "Not to worry Miss Swann, I understand you must be feelin' a little out of sorts. He paused, as if mulling over his words. "I have to say there's not many who'd risk their life for a pirate and outlaw, you're a good woman, if you don't mind me saying. And that's good luck if I ever saw it".  
  
Elizabeth smiled this time, and it was genuine "Thank you Mr Gibbs, but I am doing it to save myself and my family as much as Captain Jack Sparrow, so it's hardly what one would consider a highly noble deed..."  
  
"Just the same"  
  
"Here...let me" Elizabeth said after a small pause. She moved to take the wheel from the older man's grasp "Your arm must be horribly sore. There's some food and gin below deck, take your rest for awhile wont you?".  
  
***  
  
It was more three days of solid sailing before they made any progress. On the morning of the fourth day Elizabeth Swann woke to find Mr Gibbs' grave face peering down at her.  
  
"We've found it Miss Swann" he said breathlessly "We've found the Isle of the Skull"  
  
Elizabeth threw back the eiderdown and followed Joshamee to the deck of ship. She had no need to get dressed as she had been wearing the same clothes for three days.  
  
Sure enough, as Mr Gibb's had said the Isle of the Skull was finally in view. Upon seeing it Elizabeth had no more doubts as to how it had received its name. Even with the early morning sunrise illuminating the dark cloud hanging around it like a shroud, the islands dark jutting rocks made an unhappy shape on the horizon. Odd light protruded from the eyes and mouth of the broken skull, as if screaming a warning.   
  
Elizabeth shuddered and abruptly ran back downstairs, slamming the bathroom door behind her.  
  
*  
  
As there was so little in her stomach in the first place it was not long until Elizabeth had composed herself and rejoined Mr Gibbs on deck again. She was brushing her hair with a comb she'd managed to acquire but her hands were shaking so badly she was proving more detrimental to her brown locks than if she had let it alone completely.  
  
Already it seemed as though they were much closer to the island than before. It would be no more than an hour before they reached their destination. Their destination. As though she was destined to be there. Elizabeth thought suddenly that 'destination' was an incredibly stupid word and made a mental note to write a letter to the Queen when she returned to Port Royale to have it taken out of the English language completely.  
  
"Have you any idea of what we're going to do when we get to this island Miss?" Gibb's said suddenly, shaking her from her thoughts.  
  
"It's quite early" Elizabeth replied hopefully "Perhaps we can sneak in without anyone noticing...?"  
  
"Too late for that Miss Swann" Gibbs said, taking a swig of gin straight from the bottle and pointing out ahead of them with a look of disgust "See those lights? Looks like we're in for quite a welcome"  
  
Elizabeth squinted in the direction he was pointing, and sure enough in the half light of morning she could see tiny orbs of flame moving along the shore. It seemed they were growing in number even as she was looking. She estimated there were at least twenty already. Clutching her comb between her fingers she swallowed nervously. Why would they need so many people? What were they planning for her?  
  
"As I live ma'am I won't let them hurt you".   
  
Gibbs voice made Elizabeth start slightly and she turned to face him as he continued;  
  
"...I'd wager as soon as Jack hears what you're doing he'll feel the same way. I ain't about to see what happened to Annamaria happen again... "  
  
Elizabeth knew he was saying it to make her feel better, and oddly, it did. "You and Annamaria were good friends?" she asked quietly  
  
"Aye"  
  
There was a tense pause, and Elizabeth turned her gaze out to the sea so that Gibbs couldn't see the tears beginning to well up in her eyes. She wanted to offer some comfort as he had done for her, but there was nothing she could say that could possibly undo the pain of the carnage on the Black Pearl that night. She closed her eyes so the tears wouldn't spill, cursing her sentimentality, scolding her fear. She could feel the suns warmth and the sea spray on her face, but it didn't give her a feeling of exultation as it once had.   
  
Jack had once called it freedom, but it seemed the Black Pearl had become a cage the night Gibbs had spoken of. Now Elizabeth felt as though she was walking into one of her own, and she was afraid. In a sudden flash of realization, she knew what she had to do.  
  
"Drop the anchor!" she said abruptly, before she could change her mind.  
  
Gibbs looked up, startled. "Ay?"  
  
"Drop the Anchor please Mr Gibbs!"  
  
"But-"  
  
"DROP IT!"  
  
Mr Gibbs looked slightly scandalized by her tone, but went to the capstan and did as Elizabeth asked anyway. When the anchor had been released and the Indomitable had eventually slowed to a stop, he joined her at the front of the boat.  
  
"I don't know what crazy idea you've got this time, but I doubt it's wise we let them come to us"   
  
Elizabeth nodded and moved to the side of the boat, peering over the side "I don't intend on letting them come to us Mr Gibbs"  
  
"Then would you mind filling me in on what you are intending on doing Miss?"  
  
"I'm going to row in on -oh could you help me push this?- I'm going to row in on this boat" With Gibb's help she managed to push one of the small life boats over the side of the ship. Elizabeth then reached forward and released the rope pulley, the boat hitting the water with a loud whoosh.  
  
"...And you" she continued "are staying here and waiting for me".  
  
Joshamee's jaw dropped. "You're having me on surely, there aren't no way I'm letting you face that bunch of murderers on your own. You haven't seen what they're like..."  
  
"But I have met Barbossa" Elizabeth replied "I know a little about how to reason with him. There is no use arguing, if I have to tie you to the boat using only seaweed I will. I am going alone."  
  
"Miss Swann, you cannot-"  
  
"Mr Gibbs. You said yourself that the only reason they let you go last time was because they needed you to deliver a message. They need me, so they won't hurt me. They no longer need you, you are expendable and therefore I won't take you with me, no matter how much more secure it would make me feel. I fear we already may be too late for Jack, I will not risk your life too."  
  
"I risked my own life when I made the decision to come on this dammed expedition with you!'  
  
"And you have taken me this far and I am grateful" Elizabeth said, lowering herself into the boat "You can wait here for me and Jack until tomorrow eve. If we have not returned you will take The Indomitable back to Port Royale and give them the bad news yourself."  
  
Gibbs looked down at her for a long time. Elizabeth set her jaw, her determined exterior hiding the fear pumping through her veins. She hoped he would not protest too much longer as she knew she would crumble if pushed.  
  
Finally, running a nervous hand through his grey hair, he spoke;  
  
"If you're certain Miss Swann, then I can't see how-"  
  
"I am" Elizabeth said firmly, interrupting him "I am certain. Now if you'd please pass me those oars..."  
  
She hesitated and then continued; "If I do not return tomorrow eve please tell Will I love him. And my father, tell him I-" She took the oars from his grasp and shook her head "Never mind, I shall tell them myself when I return".  
  
Mr Gibbs looked pensive. Reaching quickly into his pocket he pulled out a small dagger and leant over and passed it to Elizabeth also. She nodded in thanks and tucked it quickly into her dress at the waist.  
  
"If they try and hurt you...." he said awkwardly "..then at least you will have something to protect yourself with. Not that it will do much good against twenty odd men. I still rightly think it'd be better for everyone if you'd allow me to escort you-"  
  
Elizabeth shook her head again quickly, and sat in the boat, gripping the oars "By tomorrow eve Mr Gibbs" she said, unable to look him in the eyes as she began to row away from the boat and any vestige of security she had left.  
  
**  
  
When she reached the shore and stepped out into the foamy water, the masked men made no move to attack her. They did not move at all and Elizabeth found it extremely unsettling. She considered what they would would do if she jumped back into the boat and rowed away like every instinct in her body was telling her to, but decided against it.  
  
More unsettling than their apparent eerie stillness, was the masks they wore. As Mr Gibbs had said it was a black piece of material with a white skull painted on, what he had neglected to tell Elizabeth however, was that these were not ordinary masks. The material enclosed their entire heads like a death shroud. There were no holes for their eyes or noses, nor any mouth holes to breathe through. They were nameless, faceless... like walking dead, and it chilled Elizabeth to the bone.  
  
Putting a hand to the hidden dagger at her waist she took a small step forward into the light of their torches and cleared her throat.  
  
"I am here to see Captain Barbossa about negotiating the release of Jack Sparrow" she said, her voice firm as she could manage.  
  
At first there was no response, which led Elizabeth to wonder if they even had ears under their masks, but this theory was soon put to rest when a low hiccoughy choked noise that could only be a laugh started from the masked man closest to her. Soon enough the whole crowd of them were cackling mercilessly, their emotionless faces bobbing about in a sick kind of dance as they laughed.  
  
Elizabeth felt oddly indignant and, forgetting herself, marched toward the first masked man to laugh.   
  
"What's so funny?" she demanded, forgetting herself.  
  
The man grabbed her then, by the arm and pulled Elizabeth so close she could smell the sweat on him.  
  
"Captain Barbossa is dead" he said, no longer laughing.   
  
Elizabeth shook her head in confussion "…But we were told! You told Joshamee Gi-" Before she was able to say anything more, or make sense of the thoughts in her head however, she felt a heavy blow to the back of her head. The masked men blurred in front of her eyes and she had the odd sensation of being carried, before the world around her faded to black.  
  
***  
  
When Elizabeth awoke it was dark, though she couldn't tell if it was due to it being night or just the ill light of her surroundings. Slightly disoriented she reached out and grabbed at some straw littering the floor where she was lying, and that when it came back to her. The Isle of the Skull. The masked men. She sat bolt upright in fright before the rushing pain in her head forced her back into a crouched position. She touched the back of her head tentatively, but apart from a little dried blood there seemed to be no permanent damage.   
  
Moving again, slowly this time she pulled her head up and began to take in her surroundings. She was in a jail cell, the little light that there was came from a small candle out side of the iron bars holding her captive. There was no window, only straw lined the concrete floor. She turned and looked helplessly at the piles of straw behind her before noticing something the made her holler in fright. Elizabeth, forgetting about the throbbing pain in her head for a moment shuffled backwards until her back was pressed against the iron bars.   
  
A hand. There was human hand protruding from under the straw at the back of the cell. And it wasn't moving. Elizabeth had a strong feeling that whoever was attached to that hand was no longer living and she covered her mouth in an effort to stop the bile rising in her throat.  
  
She had been too rash. She knew that now. Thinking she would be able to take these people on alone, bargain with them was ridiculous. Will had been right. Commodore Norrington had been right. Even Mr Gibbs had been right. And now she was stuck in a cell, most likely about to be killed herself, with a bloody hand.  
  
Elizabeth sat there for a few minutes before moving again. If the hand belonged to Jack Sparrow…if he was dead… she should know, and she should make an escape plan and her way back to the Indomitable before tomorrow eve.   
  
She crept forward on her hands and knees, and taking a deep breath, pulled back bunches of straw in a couple of fluid movements. Elizabeth yelped again in shock.  
  
Sure enough, Captain Jack Sparrow was the one who belonged to the hand. But he was breathing, she could see that. It hadn't been the reason why Elizabeth had yelled out. Despite all that Gibb's had told her she had not been ready for the sight that confronted her. Jack's normally dark face and chest was covered in black purpling bruises. There was much she couldn't see, but needed little imagination to realize what they had done to him, the blood had seeped through his clothing, and even ripped in some cases. Blood caked in his hair and most prominent of all, a large cut ran slightly diagonal from the right side of his forehead to the back of the right side his jaw. Violating his face. They had mutilated him.  
  
"Oh god…"  
  
Gibb's had been right, Elizabeth thought angrily forgetting her own fear, these masked men were animals. Death would have been merciful than this. She put her hand on his but it felt so cold she recoiled. Captain Jack Sparrow was alive, but she wondered for how long. And for that matter, how she would ever get him out of this place if he did not wake?  
  
"Jack" Elizabeth said softly, knowing it was in vain "Jack… Can you hear me?"  
  
He didn't stir, and it was getting colder. Elizabeth set her jaw and pulled the straw back over him, leaving his face open. She then, pushing away thoughts of impropriety, took his hand in hers and lay down beside him, hoping that somehow the human warmth would bring his unconscious body some respite. Her other hand moved to her waist and she was pleasantly surprised to find the dagger Mr Gibbs had entrusted to her still in the folds of her ruined dress. She felt oddly stronger for it, though she knew what little protection it would bring her and the comatose Jack. If they were going to find a way out of this place they had to do it soon. Before Mr Gibbs sailed away, and before Barbossa, or the masked men, or whoever it was that had wanted them both here came back to claim their bounty. 


End file.
